Ok, installed:
20x8.5et45
FLOW ONE Race Spec F5 wheels + Michelin 255/45R20 pilot sport 4S, Eibach springs
Why these wheels?
I like Japanese motorsport style, 5/6/7-spoke, 2/3-piece designs. But I wanted to go bigger than 19in, and get something lightweight. To do all that was going to be $3-5k. I went for these because they're light (22.4lb each), an easy to clean 5-spoke design, and at $225 each they left room in my budget for nice tires and some brake upgrades (yet to bet installed).
Custom Paint
In a 5x114.3 pattern, these are only available in gloss black, which isn't the look I was after. I decided to try to paint them 2-tone myself. The paint is duplicolor silver and graphite wheel paints, then spraymax 2k clear.
Fit Lessons learned
- 20 is not much bigger than 19. I was thinking the spokes extending all the way to the rim would make them look really large, but they don't look much bigger than the stock 19s.
- The additional 1.5in width over stock isn't much. I wish they were a little more aggressive. If they're still available in a few years when my powertrain warranty expires, I might get 10in wide wheels for the rears. In the meantime I'm looking into spacers.
- These wheels are gonna get rashed mid-spoke. I was hoping the spokes didn't arc much further outboard of the rim, and having wide 255 tires would protect them, but no. Eventually these will get curb rash in a very obvious way.
Finish Lessons Learned
- Black center caps, chrome lugs, and 2-tone paint do not look good together. Gonna have to paint those caps at least.
- I put more care into finishing the faces, thinking they'd be more prominently visible than the sides of the spokes. But now I see the spoke sides are just as visible as the faces, and would also benefit from extra clear wet-sanded flat.
- This was my first time using a 2k clear. It's awesome stuff, way better than the clears I'm used to. But next time I need to budget more for it. I went through 4 $18 cans, and would've used more if I were trying to go thick on the spoke sides also.
- Duplicolor wheel spray paint works really well for a DIY rattlecan. But, factory coatings with effect layers are definitely better. I know, duh. Mine don't look bad, but they don't have the same depth and glow of wheels I see on nice Nissans and Lexuses. Before starting, I was quoted $250/wheel by a local shop for a hyper silver paint job. I thought that was ridiculous at the time, but now, yeah, that sounds about right.